At the invitation of Jonathan Greenert, chief of the Naval Operations of the U.S., Wu Shengli, member of the China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) and commander of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), left Beijing on September 15, 2014 for the U.S. to attend the 21st International Seapower Symposium (ISS) held at the Naval War College of the U.S. from September 16 to 19, 2014.

During the ISS, Wu Shengli will deliver a speech themed “Establishing a new-type maritime security view and jointly building an oceanic environment for peaceful development,” participate in the panel discussion of the Pacific Ocean region and meet with naval leaders from various countries. This is the first time for the Chinese naval leader to attend the ISS.

Naval and coast guard leaders from more than 100 countries will attend the ISS, according to sources.

The ISS, which is held biennially by the U.S. Navy, is an important platform for naval leaders of various countries in the world to jointly study and discuss issues on maritime security and cooperation. The 21st ISS is themed “How to jointly deal with global maritime challenges.”